Tiger Woods seems set to make an uncommon putter switch on Thursday when the PGA Championship starts at TPC Harding Park.
Woods has been practicing this week with an alternate rendition of the Scotty Cameron Newport II putter he has utilized for a greater part of his career, one that permits him to change the weighting; it likewise is longer.
Steve Stricker, who throughout the years has given Woods help with his putting, played a nine-hole practice round with Woods at Harding Park on Wednesday and enjoyed what he saw.
“I asked him about the putter switch,” said Stricker, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain who helped Woods at the Presidents Cup a year ago. “It’s basically the same putter with a bit more flexibility. He’s able to change the weights around a little bit, but the length is the difference.
“He’s got a little more length on there, and that’s just so he can practice a little bit more without back pain. That’s what excites him the most is that he was able to put in a lot of time with this putter, and watching him putt, it looked exactly the same to me. He rolled the ball great.”
Woods showed up at Harding Park on Sunday and played an 18-hole practice round. He played nine holes Monday, practiced on the range and putting green on Tuesday and played another nine holes Wednesday. In the wake of playing, he returned to the putting green for more work.
The Scotty Cameron model Woods has utilized for most of his career has its very own touch unbelievable status. He originally put it in play preceding the 1999 Byron Nelson Classic and utilized it for over 11 years. During that stretch, he won 13 major championships.
In 2010, Woods changed to a Nike brand putter for a period, and when he came back to activity following his fourth back surgery in 2018, he used two diverse TaylorMade model putters before switching back to the Cameron. Woods won the Tour Championship, the Masters, and the Zozo Championship with the original Cameron. He has won roughly $94 million in prize cash using that putter.
The Cameron he’s had such a great amount of accomplishment with has given some wear and tear. It has various nicks and dings, yet the weighting is on the rear of the blade; the more up to date form that checking is on the front of the putter.
Throughout the years, Woods has explored different avenues regarding other Cameron putters and had the one he is required to use on Thursday in his bag the previous summer at The Open at Royal Portrush. Be that as it may, he chose not to utilize it during the competition, where he missed the cut.
Woods said following his 40th-place tie at the Memorial Tournament three weeks prior that he didn’t adjust well to having more break in the greens. He was 56th in the field in strokes picked up putting and had a few issues with short putts.
At Harding Park, Woods has invested a decent piece of energy into lag putting, a significant factor at a major championship, where hitting it close is to a challenge.
“I expect good things from him if he can keep his body playable,” said Stricker, noting the back stiffness issues that Woods faces in even the best of times. “With this weather, it’s a challenge. It’s cool, it’s damp, and so I imagine that will probably be the biggest challenge for him this week is to be able to feel like his body is 100 percent and give it a rip.”
